Gekko

What in your in your opinion is the Best Tire Brand for the Money?

Jmai22

i love michelen and will probly never buy another brand name. they stay quiet until the last tread. they last pretty long too. about 140 or so each depenidn on size.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

I have always had good performance with Goodyear. I particularly like the Aquatreds (awesome in rain and snow). The Bonneville I bought in 98' had Michelins but both rear tires simultaneously had belts that shifted for no apparent reason. I replaced all four with Goodyear Aquatreds. Best tire I have ridden on in New England so far. I can't judge Michelins cause I have never had them new or for very long, although I have never heard bad things about them.

The Mazda I bought in 86 came with BF Goodrich, they were ok but didn't last long. I replaced them with Goodyears Eagles GTs at 25k mi. They lasted until I sold the car at 75k mi.

The 02' ES came with Bridgstone Potenza RE92. So far they are ok, very quiet, hold a shine reasonably well, good tread pattern and seem to be good in rain. They are adequate in snow but I can only judge from two snow falls to date. I will let you know more tomorrow. Currently there is a nor'easter going on outside with some really wet snow. Prediciton is 12 to 18 inches.

I am shy towards Firestone/Bridgestone due to their poor quality in popular designs (ie. Firestone 500, Wilderness AT).

I have never tried the imports like Perelli, Yokahama or Toyo.
I have heard that Sumotumos have a harder rubber and last longer but they don't grip as well.

**Whatever you choose, get the protection plan, It could save you a headache, some money, and balance/rotations are free.**

steviej

Jmai22

thats what this club is all about.

also if there is a cosco around you get your tires there. the usually have a sale like 50 bucks off 4 tires. and they always have lifetime rotat/balance for the life of the wheels

SC4Hundred

costco has the best deal

DesertRat

I think you have to compare specific models of tires, rather than corporate brands. That said, Michelin seems to make the best tires overall--but they are expensive!

I used to pay that Michelin premium till one day my wife (now ex-wife) asked if I could please try to find something cheaper. I did a lot of research and decided to try Pirelli P600's instead of the Michelin MXVs I loved so much. The Pirellis were great! They had just as much grip, lasted longer, and worked better in the rain. Plus, they were only about 50 bucks each at the Tire Rack. I used them for years after that--until they were discontinued and no longer available. Anyway, the lesson I learned from that experience was that I should be willing to try new things rather than getting locked into a particular brand.

My '96 ES300 that I bought in July came with new Yohohama Avid H-rated tires. So far, after ca. 10,000 miles, they seem pretty good. I'll keep ya posted.

I use Dunlop D60 A2 (also H-rated) on my MR2. They are great and only $45 each.

mooretorque

Roger that, on DesertRat's assertion that one should match tires to application, rather than depend on corporate branding. Remember that Goodyear makes such high performance rubber as the Eagle F1 AND the floppy Integrity which Lexus sourced as OEM rubber to the RX for so long.

Buy what you need for what you drive, how you drive and where you drive..........

LexFather

dUDE, it depends on what size tire. I prefer Bridgestone but what size are u talking about?

gebo

I believe for consistent overall quality and performance, nothing touches Michelin. It seems like every time I start questioning how expensive they are and not wanting to pay the high dollar for the MIchelins, I end up buying a "cheaper but just as good" tire. They may be good for a while but after a few miles/months, I have always regretted it.

I've made this mistake 3 times in my 45 years. I hope I don't have to learn it again

I'm sure there are better tires, I just haven't been able to find them. Oh, please don't try and change my mind. I don't want to make another mistake!

fever

Bingo.

meZoom!

i think y'all just agreed that tire size/type/etc must be taken into consideration when cross-comparing tires, but I believe there is a general feeling about brands of tires. this is a lex club, i think in general we are talking about tires for cars on the street, not offroading, not regroovable bus tires.
that being said, I don't like BF Goodrichs, this dood had them on his 60something camaro, that was fine, but only for that. the Goodyear Eagles (made in australia!) that i had were cracking at the sides and they were relatively hard rubber. Kumhos are noisy from my experience, pirellis i dunno. I love michellins and Yokohamas. Bridgestone is ok for the most part, as long as you aren't riding on "economical" long lasting tires that ride like crud.
Conclusion??? i love yokohamas and michellins for regular passenger/sport cars. if i were F1/CARTing, i'd be on firestones probably. ok im rambling.

Lexmexico

I love my Michellins. Best thing is here in Mexico, you get 5 layers of protection, rather than the U.S. 3 layers, because the roads are awful and the tire makers know it.

LexFather

Wow, good info, I did not know that. Is this for all tire makes?

dipstick

I held out for many years before buying my first set of Michelins. I put them on my wife's Buick Riviera to replace Goodyear Aquatreds which I swapped at the Goodyear store for the OE Goodyear tires. Paid the retail difference to swap. They are the best touring tires I have ever had, still ride quiet and safe with almost 40,000 miles. These are the Energy series, 225/60/16. So I decided to replace the Goodyear OE tires on my "99 Corvette with Michelins. Only available in XGTZ4 run-flat for C5. Paid about 10% LESS than the Goodyears, and they are also very good tires (245/45/17 front, 275/40/18 rear). But when I look at the Michelin Sports at $275 vs. SO3s at $195, I may try the SO3s next on my GS.

BlvdKing

I have Yokohama Parada spec 2 and they are a good performance tire low noise(8), good handling(8), good wet driving(9), looks and tread pattern(9.5). I have enjoyed these tires for about 7K miles and they aren't showing wear 40 series Z rated! but for stock size tires I have had good luck with Toyo.